Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command and their military counterparts on Thursday repelled an attack on a branch of First Bank Plc and a police divisional headquarters located in the Abaji Area Council.

The armed robbers were said to have attacked both the bank and police divisional headquarters simultaneously on Thursday.

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The armed robbers numbering 15 were said to have attacked their targets with dynamites.

However, security forces who were mobilised to the scenes engaged the criminals in a fierce gun duel, leading to the death of three of the armed robbers.

A statement on Friday by the FCT command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, added that some of the robbers fled the scenes with injuries while three were arrested.

She identified those arrested as Usman (surname yet unknown), Nuhu Musa, and Muhammed Aminu.

Adeh added that a yet-to-be-identified suspect was set ablaze by a mob at the scene after being neutralised by the security forces

The statement read, “In swift response to an armed robbery incident at First Bank Plc in Abaji on June 13, 2024, at about 5pm, the FCT police, led by the commissioner of police, CP Benneth Igweh, himself, in a combined operation with the military, mobilised to scene and repelled the attack simultaneously carried out on both Abaji Divisional Police headquarters and First Bank Plc in Abaji by a group of 15 armed men who attacked with dynamites in attempt to rob the bank.

“The security forces engaged the armed robbers in an intense gun duel, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet wounds, as the security forces succeeded in apprehending three suspects, namely, Usman (surname yet unknown), who was reported to be the gang leader, Nuhu Musa, 41 ‘m’ of Kogi State; and Muhammed Aminu, 25 ‘m’ of Abaji, with grave degrees of bullet injuries, while a yet-to-be-identified suspect was set ablaze by an irate mob at the scene after being neutralised by the security forces.”

She noted that a police officer who was hit by a bullet during the operation was confirmed dead at the hospital where he was rushed to.

Adeh said, “One police operative and the gang leader hit by a bullet during the gun duel, were rushed to the hospital, and the doctor on duty confirmed them dead, while others are still receiving treatment.

“While a search operation is ongoing to apprehend fleeing suspects with bullet injuries, the commissioner of police FCT lauds the effectiveness of the combined operation and reaffirms the command’s unflinching commitment to ensuring that FCT remains inhabitable for criminals, noting that the safety of the residents of FCT is non-negotiable.”